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Credit: DisneyThe beauty of a Walt Disney World Resort vacation is that it is completely immersive. Once you drive through the Disney World arch, everything in the real world seems to disappear.
When guests walk down Main Street, U.S.A., they’re not in Central Florida. Somehow, Disney World transported them to Main Street during Walt Disney’s childhood.
It’s the same feeling at any Disney World land, from Toy Story Land to Pandora: The World of Avatar. You are transformed into another place and time.
However, guests are concerned about what’s to come with one of Magic Kingdom’s most immersive land experiences: Frontierland. No other land in Magic Kingdom has undergone more transformation, and most of the changes have yet to come, but this has left guests wondering exactly what this land is now.
Frontierland
The American Frontier is generally defined as the time period from the end of the Civil War to the start of the 20th Century in the American West. Rides and attractions like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, Country Bear Jamboree, Splash Mountain, and Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade perfectly fit into that period.
The Walt Disney Railroad passing through the land perfectly encompassed the American West during this time period. However, all of that is now changing.
Splash Mountain, based on the controversial Song of the South (1946), has already been replaced by Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, set in the late 1920s. While the ride’s aesthetic is similar, the theming has moved deep into the 20th Century.
However, that’s not even the most drastic change coming to Frontierland. Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, both of which fit the Frontierland time period, are closing to be replaced by Cars Land.
While the movies are set in the early 2000s, Radiator Springs was founded in the early 1900s. However, cars simply don’t fit with a Frontierland.
The Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade has closed to make way for a Disney Vacation Club members’ lounge, and the Country Bear Jamboree has undergone a renovation to bring it into the 21st Century.
That leaves Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as the lone attraction, reminding guests of the old Frontierland. And even that will be closed into 2026.
With so many changes coming to Frontierland, guests are left to wonder what’s left of the frontier, and the answer from Imagineers appears to be “very little.” Just like the frontier itself, this immersive Magic Kingdom land is quickly disappearing before our eyes.